KFC’s new chicken sandwich
KFC
KFC is starting 2021 by entering the chicken sandwich war.
The latest menu addition from the Yum Brands chain will replace the Crispy Colonel sandwich in an effort to gain an edge over its rivals.
The contest started more than a year ago with the launch of the Popeyes version of the classic item, which has crispy chicken on a buttered brioche bread with mayonnaise or spicy Cajun sauce. Since its debut, the sandwich has helped drive sales growth in the same double-digit store for the Restaurant Brands International chain each quarter.
McDonald’s will enter the ring next month. Everyone is trying to steal some of the momentum that Chick-fil-A has seen in recent years, by becoming the third largest restaurant chain in sales, after McDonald’s and Starbucks.
As of Thursday, the KFC sandwich is available at select restaurants in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Louisville, Kentucky, Sacramento, California and Tulsa, Oklahoma. By the end of February, it will be available nationwide at all 4,000 KFC restaurants in the United States. Three McDonald’s chicken sandwiches will debut on February 24 in the U.S.
In the spring, KFC tested the sandwich in Orlando, Florida, and the item almost doubled its original sales projections.
“Many customers have not considered KFC to be part of the conversation about chicken sandwiches, but anyone who tastes this sandwich will undoubtedly know that we are playing to win,” said Andrea Zahumensky, director of marketing for KFC US
The sandwich consists of a 250-gram breaded chicken breast fillet, toasted brioche bread, pickles and mayonnaise or spicy sauce. The KFC version is similar in ingredients to Popeyes, McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A. Everyone uses breaded filet, brioche bread and pickles. The main difference is the method of breading and frying, which affects texture and flavor.
Yum shares, which have a market value of $ 31.8 billion, were up 3% last year. Although KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell recovered quickly in the United States, their international locations took longer to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.